Chopsticks in America: 5/25 Reading and writing and arithmetic

It is amazing to watch a child learn so much in such a short amount of time. As children, we first learn English by hearing our parents and then we begin to speak. As we approach school age, we begin to write and read and the process has a natural progression. With Jen, that whole process has been compressed into just a matter of months. She did know how to write some of the English alphabet but did not know all the letters or the sounds. She basically knew 1-10 in English, a few English phrases like "I am fine" and that was about it.

My wife began homeschooling Jen about 2 weeks after we came back home and it has been hard at times but Jen has learned a lot. For the first 3 months, there was no interest in reading or being read to. She could only read certain Chinese characters and so she wasn't able to read even Chinese comic books at her grade level. Then gradually, she began to show an interest in reading and the phonics that Kristy was teaching her began to payoff big dividends. She is sounding out words now -- of course, it is all at the beginner stage, but she is able to sound out short words and comes very close to the correct pronunciation. Her handwriting skills are very good we think -- especially considering she is moving from a character system to a letter system that uses upper and lower case.

We ate seafood today and she enjoyed the crab. She said she liked to eat the whole crab (including the legs) in Zhuhai. She practiced her English skills for us on the back of the restaurant bill and we saved it for a momento. I wanted to share it with you. I spelled the word "crab" for her and then she drew a picture and wrote the sentences.

Jen is learning more and more math and is beginning to read the math problems. We think she is making good progress in the math area and hope to have her at or near grade level in time for the fall.

She is just beginning to play independently although she would rather have us play or do an activity with her. About the only thing she will consistently do by herself is homework or watch a video. We hope in time she will be more independent but understand that this is very common with children who have been in an orphanage for so long. It is difficult for them to initiate activities by themselves. As another blogger with an older Chinese daughter so aptly put it..."she is my shadow". Kristy is so patient and willing to give her the attention and the affection that she missed for so many long years. Jen rarely misses a chance to be held and being snuggled is high up on her priority list.

It will be interesting over time to see how she adjusts to being an only child after growing up with so many other children. If God opens the door for us to adopt again, she may have siblings but that of course takes time -- especially in the slow moving world of adoption. Sadly, across the world there is an ever flowing stream of children who wait for someone to love them.